China treats polluted water in blast site with alkaline substances

BEIJING — Alkaline substances were poured onto the site of a deadly blast in East China’s Jiangsu province to neutralize the polluted water, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment said on March 29.

After neutralization, the wastewater was transported through pipelines to a local sewage treatment plant for temporary storage.

The priority for emergency response following an explosion at an industrial park on March 21 is wastewater disposal, said an official with the ministry.

Authorities have adopted different measures to treat the polluted water in accordance with the severity of pollution.

The ministry has sent over 50 experts in environmental monitoring and treatment of water, solid waste and soil to help solve the pollution.

Jiangsu province has set up six air monitoring points and 14 water quality monitoring sections around the site, which have released over 9,000 statistics.

The deadly explosion happened at about 2:48 pm on March 21, following a fire that broke out in a plant owned by Jiangsu Tianjiayi Chemical Co in a chemical park in Xiangshui county, in the city of Yancheng.